


Sun & Moon

by Minnienia



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, College, Living Tattoos, M/M, Underage Drinking, give it a try :’), hyunjins a great friend, its a simple story, really cute I think :), typical college life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-13 19:22:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28908537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Minnienia/pseuds/Minnienia
Summary: There in front of them all Minho’s identity mark begins to shift. His crescent moon on full display. They watch together as the clouds part and make space for his companion. This star eclipses the beauty of any other star that has mapped itself across his skin. This star claims him as its own. It is whole, it is full, and it is his Sun.
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Kudos: 70





	Sun & Moon

**Author's Note:**

> Hello lovelies .. I hope you enjoy ! Don’t be shy, talk to me ｡◕‿◕｡ .  
> Twitter : @minnienia1  
> Instagram : @hwalltogether_  
> Curious Cat : @minnienia1

Sat in front of a full length mirror is a 10 year old version of himself. His mother sat behind him, the hem of his Jang Guem's Dream Night shirt under his chin. Occupying almost the entirety of his lower abdomen is the image of a crescent moon surrounded by puffy grey clouds encasing the sketch in a sort of makeshift frame. The moon itself stands out vividly with its dark blue outline, the inside being colored only by the natural tone of his skin. There are small stars littered across the intricate design, all dripping in a sparkling gold that twinkle slightly under the bathroom light. 

His mother traces it.

"Minho, What is this?" She makes eye contact with him through their reflections. The pads of her fingertips dance over the area of their focus and it makes him giggle. 

"It's my identity mark." He can remember refusing to stay still, rocking constantly on the heels of his feet. 

"Yes it is, and does anyone have one like yours?"

"No mommy, there's only someone that can complete it." The words roll from his mouth awkwardly as his tongue struggles to connect the building blocks of the quote that his mother has said to him many times before. 

"And what does that mean baby?"

"It means they'll make my identity mark prettier and they'll even give me a new one."

"Very good darling!" She pulls down his shirt, now invaded with wrinkles and clasp his hands between her own and just like clockwork he ask her,

"Can I see yours mommy?"

To which she responds with a fond smile and another tickle to his belly before she pulls her hair to fall over her right shoulder. 

There it is, her identity mark. At one point it was a continuous stretch of small flower buds engulfing her shoulder and planting themselves down the expanse of her back. They were these hot pink little beads that sat on a forest green bed of leaves and left the paleness of her skin with a radiant glow. That was until she attended a trip to Japan with her university around ten years prior. She stood beneath a cherry blossom tree peacefully before what she described as a "mini-shock" traveled from her shoulder blade to the bottom of her back. She moved her top to the side to reveal a new addition to her identity mark. A running vine continuing to wrap itself around her shoulder right before her eyes. It was deep in the color green, almost forest like. It ran between the flower buds and upon contact each of them blossomed into the very ones she was stood beneath. All with white petals, splashes of the blinding pink splattered out here and there. 

She talked about how the feeling of static didn't leave until she made eye contact with another student a few feet away. The same look of realization etched into his features. A few months later another marking made its appearance. It was the image of a tree, small flowers suffocating every branch, the silhouettes of a man and a woman sat peacefully beneath the outstretched branches. His father has the exact same marking on his back. 

Their soul marking. 

Today a twenty year old version of himself stands in front of yet another mirror. It's filled with condensation, the evidence of his morning shower. The morning light peeks through his bathroom window and dances with the fog, providing him with a calm company in the small area. A quick swipe of his towel across the mirror gives way to his reflection. There's another wrapped lowly around his hips. His identity mark is on full display once again. It stares at him unwaveringly and twinkles under his blinking bathroom light. It hadn't changed much in the ten year time span between the memory and the present. It's spread out slightly with the inevitable growth of his body. He noticed a few years ago that the colors seem to increase in boldness every year, but other than that there's little to no difference. Definitely nothing major like a completion mark per se.

That fact doesn't bother him all that much, it's just an obvious one. 

He is in no real rush to find his soulmate. His schedule jammed packed with academics and his dance practices, he has no real time truthfully.

But Hyunjin found an empty slot. He’d been the first person to approach Minho in the early beginnings of their college career. He found Hyunjin sat outside his dorm completely drenched in sweat. Hyunjin being Minho’s across the hall mate. He was just sitting there, hair then a jet black that just began to tickle below his ears. Despite being completely worn out from getting his room together he offered to help Minho finish with his and they’ve been together ever since.

He bombarded Minho with ultimatums for weeks when he found out about the get together Chris was having. 

“Come on Minnie if you go I promise to do your English report.” His pout was tempting but his words a nuisance. Minho lets out a sigh with no real bite.

“The report you’re talking about was due last week.” He swings his backpack over his shoulder and makes his way to the library’s exit.

“Shit, okay wait can you help me with that?”

Failed attempt number one. He tries again later that week, promising Minho breakfast in return for his attendance and then sleeping through all of his alarms. Failed attempt number two. He even went as far as telling the boy he wouldn’t talk to him for a week if he didn’t agree to go. It lasted about a day and a half.

“Minnie really? Did you not miss me?” he clung to Minho’s hip for three days straight after that. And dare he say it, but Minho actually felt for his friend so he decided he’d go. He still doesn’t know if he should count that last one as a fail. Hyunjin gave him the details as they laid tangled on Minho’s couch, one of their favorite dramas playing in the background.

“ I think he said it’s like an alcohol fueled game night. I don’t know but they’ll have mimosas.” 

“Mimosas?”

“Well I think they’re actually going to be those little fruity wine cooler things, but it’ll be sweet alcohol nonetheless.”

“Is the alcohol the only reason you’re going? You sure it has nothing to do with a certain sophomore.” Hyunjin’s eyes light up at the mention of his soulmate. Their relationship is still fresh, having found out their fate just a week prior. Hyunjin’s professor informed him that if he didn’t seek extra help he was at risk of failing his history course. So he grumbled and pissed about during his entire walk to the library and chalked up the turning in his belly to the fact that he was spending a Friday night in the university library. 

Paid no mind to his irregular heartbeat as he peered around the corners of bookshelves in search of the tutor that would be dressed in “black sweats and a green hoodie.” But he couldn’t ignore the way his ears rung when he found him hunched over the library’s chipped study desk, glasses slipping down the bridge of his nose. His highlighter dropped from his fingers as he sensed it, and raised his head to meet Hyunjin’s wide eyes. 

Hyunjin described what he believed to be tiny explosions that ran down the expanse of Seungmin’s middle finger ignite right before his eyes. Said that he felt the tightening in his wrist as the stem of the unidentified flower that he spent many years wondering when it would bloom begin to sprout. The petals felt like the brushes of a feather against his sensitive skin as they took shape. They sprouted wildly resembling the same ones that ran down the other boys finger. Whenever they hold hands it looks like Seungmin is giving Hyunjin the seeds needed to plant his flower.

A dandelion.

From Hyunjin’s version of events Seungmin still made him study.

They still have yet to find out what will become of their soul marking. The amount of time it takes to appear varries amongst couples, appearing only when it’s ready. But Hyunjin isn’t to worried with what’s missing right now, just more interested in what he’s found and exploring it as thoroughly as he can.

“Can you believe that it was Seungmin. I mean come on, how have we not run into one another this entire time.” The content look on his face spreads warmth through Minho’s chest. He spares Minho a glance full of soul crushing sympathy and it makes him regret looking him in the eyes. 

“Don’t worry Minho, we’ll find your soulmate soon.“ They finish off the remainder of their drama and fill themselves on Chinese takeout. But Minho is not fully there, his mind stuck somewhere between dreaming of that too far itch and wondering what his soulmate marking will look like. Reassuring himself that he is indeed in no rush.

The memory serves as a calming one as Minho makes his way out of his apartment. The sidewalks are bare, late night traffic already passed, the masses of sleep deprived colleges students amped up on unhealthy amount of caffeine have already found the bars that they will call their home for the night. So Minho finds the dormitory easily, his feet on auto pilot as they carry him through the maze of cars. He follows the trail of morning laughter, runs his fingers along the posters lining the walls. Towards the end of the hall, the last door on the left rings with vibrance in the early morning haze. His knuckles rasp a beat against the wooden surface. He’s met with Seungmin’s look of living room chic served in its most acceptable version of public attire.

Chris and Changbin’s dorm isn’t one of the newer ones, so they still have that beige carpet covered in decade old stains left behind by clumsy alumni, and their light switches are outside some of their doorways while others sit on the inside, and in order for the shower to run they have to make sure both the kitchen and bathroom faucet are running as well. But it’s large enough to house them all at once. In the kitchen area, there are about six boys in total. They’re all stood around a marble counter, various bottles of liquor and cans of beer strewn about and an endless amount of snacks stakes their claim. They all turn to greet the new arrivals with inviting smiles and small waves. Chris steps out slings his arm across Minho’s shoulders and points a finger across the room. Following his aim, his eyes fall on someone he’s never seen. He stands at the corner of the small dining table with his hands resting on the sharp corners. He’s dressed in casual clothing, a thick black hoodie swallowing his upper half whole and his hair is styled perfectly, a lone strand curled and hanging against his forehead. He sends Minho a polite smile and his heart flaps its wings like a caged bird against his rib cage.

“So you know everyone, but that guy over there,” he addresses the stranger with a wagging finger. His eyes are soft and his smile is inviting as he introduces himself as “Jisung.” His eyes linger a little longer on Minho and he can feel the balls of his cheek begin to gain warmth and this time he can’t blame it on winter’s need to be close. 

“Have you guys already begun drinking?” Minho questions the obvious as he watches as Seungmin reaches for a can of beer for his own enjoyment.

“You know these fools are incapable of waiting for anyone.” Hyunjin answers as he sips from his own half-empty can. A can is passed to Minho in the hands of Jisung and he accepts it with a slight bow of his head. They all participate in sparse conversations that revolve around winter break plans, important happenings in one another’s lives, and any and every meme that they’ve found funny over the past five months. A few drinks later Chris declares their next move.

“We have board games and beer so let’s get this party started.” He says in a booming voice that lacks nothing, especially authority. His response is met with a chain of cheers and whoops. They all filled their arms with as much alcohol and snacks as possible and began to make the move. As Minho reaches to pick up a remaining six-pack of Hite beer he bumps into the boy standing next to him.

“I’m sorry.” he smiles up at who appears to be Jisung. His eyes crinkle at the edges and spreads the rest of his amusement throughout his face in spurts. He turns to rest his back against the marble counter. He’s not that tall but neither is Minho so eye contact with Minho is easy. Jisung stretches out an arm and takes the case he planned on carrying himself. 

“I can take that.” Minho reaches for the beer stacked on top of the many other things in his long arms. He slides to the right, just out of his reach.

“No I’ll carry it, and you have to let me. As your way of saying sorry for nearly knocking me over.” His eyes shine bright with mischief as he watches Minho process his words.

“I didn’t almost knock you over, I barely tapped you and I don’t think this is how negotiating works.” He quirks his head to the side and eyes the other curiously as he chooses to smile brightly in return.

“Says who?” He’s turned and heading out of the doorway before Minho can register the question. He chuckles, one that sounds so light and airy that it almost goes unnoticed, but when the boy throws a smile over his shoulder he knows it meets his ears. He grabs a bag of chips and follows him into the living room.

“Bro I don’t know who told you this was acceptable, but it’s like animal cruelty, but for humans.” Changbin’s lips are snarled up in disgust. Chris had placed a tray on the coffee table. It’s full of sandwich bread slathered in butter and topped with sprinkles. Minho’s lips turn down at the corners. Chris just laughs and picks up a square.

“It’s really popular back home actually.” Felix laughs around the bite he’d stolen from Chris’s piece.

“Yeah Australia, but this is Korea.“ Changbin takes a piece nonetheless.

Seungmin brought a speaker and a couple of CDs. Well the speaker is from the late 80s so it’s more of a “boom box”. He says it’s his dad’s and they plan on passing it down like a family heirloom to replace the miss shaped rings and ill fitting tuxedos. A little piece of something to show off their families uniqueness. His CDs consist of anything between throwback Korean rock and R&B all the way to the itty-bitty parts of the country that are acceptable. That being Keith urban and Carrie underwood exclusively

“Okay we have Uno, Cards Against Humanity, and Twister. Pick your poison.” Hyunjin holds the variety sized boxes in the palm of his hand spread out like a deck of cards. He dances around the room, teetering from toe to toe as they weigh their options. Changbin leaps from his place on the living room floor to grab the black and white box with mono tone lettering spelling out “Cards Against Humanity.”

“Is that even a real question?” He asks matter-of-factly. Hyunjin makes a mockery of Changbin’s dignity milliseconds after he turns his back to him, his face contorted in one of the stupidest expressions Minho has ever seen. Felix and he giggle like school boys behind their hands. The older boy whips on his heels just in time for Hyunjin to set his features back to normal.

The sun sneaks in through the windows and spills in as ripples and floods their entire temporary home in a warm glow. The corners of the room bask in the glory of their passing beauty as they fill the cracks and splinters in the wood with their raw laughter. Their knees knock as they rock back-and-forth on numb bottoms as a result of their choice of seating. Their eyes crinkle at the edges as they fill their free time with enough memory fuel to have them doubled over in laughter for years to come. It doesn’t stop as they sling themselves onto one another and let the warmth from their skin sink well into souls, energizing them like no other.

They untangle themselves from their current game of twister and reach for their half emptied cans. Water is dripping down Minho’s elbow from his perspiration covered can, Changbin is handing out cards for another round of Cards Against Humanity when he feels it, the heat that courses through his veins, the dull fire that calls for his undivided attention. 

“Bro how in the fuck is ‘In a world ravaged by roaches our only solace is death’ funnier than ‘In a world ravaged by incest our only solace is pulling out’.” Hyunjin is full-fledged pouting as he looks at Jeongin and his answers laying side by side on the flea market coffee table. Changbin can barely contain his tipsy laughter as he babysits his fourth can of Hite. He lays lazily against Seungmin’s shoulder as said boy sips slowly from his own can.

“I don’t think it’s about the funny factor with this one, but the ethical one babe.” Felix runs his hands across the expanse of the older boys back in an attempt at healing his wounded ego. He’s uncoordinated even when he’s sober, but now six beers in? Maybe seven, he’d fall face first even if he was laying down. He turns sharply and almost headbutts his companion. 

“There are no ethics in Cards Against Humanity Felix!” Hyunjin sounds so pitiful as Felix squishes his cheeks between the palms of his hands and coos.

“I know baby, don’t worry you’re number one to me.” He tends to get extremely affectionate when he’s drunk. Always kissing everyone’s cheeks, throwing out pet names whenever he can, and in desperate need of touching any person within a six-foot radius. Hyunjin is his target for the night. It just so happens that that’s the complete opposite for Jeongin as he sits on the furthest end of the couch, his legs bunched under him in some weird rendition of criss-cross applesauce. The only one of them not on the floor. Despite that he still allows Jisung to lay his feet across his lap as he rests on his back in front of the couch.

Chris walks in with arms full of bowls that hold pretzels, popcorn, and another with some fruits. He plops himself down next to Minho, it causes a few pretzel sticks to spew out sporadically, but no one says anything. He slides an arm around his small waist and rests his head on the boy’s shoulder. Minho laughs and pats the top of his head. He sniffs a few times at the boy’s dyed hair and makes eye contact with Jisung across the room and they burst out into uncontrollable giggles. Minho begins to feel a sensation akin to an itch wash over his limbs. Chris shushes them before he can question it.

“Let’s play Truth or Dare.” He says.

“Did you say-,” Changbin pauses to take another sip from his can (he’s finally moved on to his fifth one) “Truth or Dare?” Before Chris can respond Jeongin fills the silence for the first time in a while.

“I’m Down.”

“Me- me too.” Jisung sits up straight with only a few hiccups but reaches for his next can. The rest of the group give their own affirmative nods and they all turn to Minho simultaneously. 

“Minho you gonna play?” Hyunjin smiles at him through lazy lids. Minho shrugs which in their language is sign language for “yes”. Too comfortable to make the walk to the kitchen to get himself another can, Minho reaches for Chris’s and takes a sip. 

“Let’s start with the youngest and we’ll go clockwise from Jeongin’s choice.” Minho scans the room to make sure everyone is okay with his suggestions and when he’s met with a sea of bobbleheads he awaits Jeongin’s choice.

“Felix what was your most embarrassing moment?” The boy answers immediately.

“Ah! This was tenth-grade year and some of my classmates and I were going to sneak back into the school to have some beers and just shit around. Anyways long story short I got shitfaced and ended up pissing myself and the guy that I had a crush on since middle school-” Chris cuts him off with a thunder of laughter. 

“Not Haein?”

“Oh yes Haein,” Felix laughs back, “anyways he had to carry me back on his back while I was still in my piss soaked clothes. I couldn’t look at him for weeks.” His answers gave the game a fantastic start. The boys all tumble over in laughter and down the rest of their inhibitions with the remains of the beer in the refrigerator, Hyunjin complaining only slightly at the fact that Chris forgot the “‘mimosas”. The game continues on with similar questions, “have you farted in class, you’re shitting in a bathroom and there’s no toilet paper what do you do, what does your browser history look like.”

There is a question that shifts the dynamics of the game. One that tetters on the line of acceptable and forbidden in a room full of young adult boys that have for the better half of the night drowned themselves in beer that they went through a lot to get. It sucks the easygoing atmosphere in through a fire breathing mouth and spits it out, the smoke fills the room with an agonizing quietness. It was Hyunjin’s turn and he had chosen Jisung. 

“Who do you think here is worthy enough to call you their soulmate?” Hyunjin sprawled his torso over the splintering coffee table to get a better look at the older boy who glared at him in return. Everyone in the room absentmindedly leaned in themselves as they waited for his answer. Minho included, and that’s when he feels it again. This dull ache in the pit of his belly that he tries to blame on the abundance of alcohol floating in his system. 

“Uhm,” Jisung plays with the rim of his second beer, “maybe,” he lifts his gaze to scan them over the boys in the room without trying to actually look anyone in their eyes, but he fails. He finds himself locked in on Minho and his expression blanks. For a second Minho thinks he feels it too. The tightening in his chest, the burn in his throat. The way his feet tap in resistance at the strength it’s taking him to hold them in place. But he answers soon. 

“Minho, okay next question.” He spits the words out so quickly Hyunjin almost falls over the table trying to make sure he actually heard him. Maybe he did feel it.

“Jisung! Seriously? Minho?” Chris wails as he refuses to accept his fate. 

“Oh Chris darling, jealousy looks good on no one.” Minho sends a wink his way as he aggravates Chris to no end. 

“I swear I’ll-”

“Minho truth or Dare?” Changbin cuts in.

“Dare.” 

“I dare you to tell us who you think is the cutest in the room.” Minho sends a flirtatious smile Jisung’s way and the boys erupt into a chorus of “ohs” and “ahs” as they watch.

“Easy. Jisung.” 

“Whatever, what ever. New game!” Minho is sure Chris is the one that says it, but he can’t focus on much of anything else besides the stinging he’s feeling on his abdomen. It’s more of a pinch like the ones his mom would give him when she was warning him about behaving too rowdy in a room full of adults. The conversations come to a halt gradually around him when he decides to lift his shirt.

“Holy shit.”

There in front of them all Minho’s identity mark begins to shift. His crescent moon on full display. They watch together as the clouds part and make space for his companion. This star eclipses the beauty of any other star that has mapped itself across his skin. This star claims him as its own. It is whole, it is full, and it is his Sun. It nestles itself in the crock of Minho’s moon and it leaks its color into it’s diameter and in return his moon shares its ghastly glow, leaking it’s blue out into the Sun’s hollow opening. 

When things have finally settled into place only then does Minho’s limbs remember how to move. He turns slowly to face Jisung across the coffee table. His eyes wide in wonder as he stares at the palm of his hand. Minho stands quickly and makes the short walk to close the distance between the two he takes his wrist into a gentle hold and gazes with him. There upon Jisung’s palm is a miniature image of the conjoining of the sun and the moon. The same one that has settled across Minho’s abdomen. Jisung uses his free hand to reach for Minho’s. He flips it so it’s facing palm up and there it is. The same marking that claims Jisung’s palm has found a home on his as well.

“See Minnie, I told you we’d find your soulmate.” Hyunjin screeches and claps his hands together wildly. The two spend the rest of the night together. Watching the way their soul markings glow when they sit their palms side by side. They ignore the gags they receive from their friends and pay attention only to the constellations written in their stars. 


End file.
